Schedule of Drugs as Defined By the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of the United States.
In 1970, the United States 91st Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) which sets federal drug policy for the U.S. It is this Act that regulates the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of specified substances as signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
The Act created five Schedules, or classifications, for the regulation of each drug specifically. Is through these Schedules that the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (D.E.A.) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice charged with enforcement of the laws that regulate illegal drug growing, manufacturing or distribution of controlled substances in the United States.
For your information, we have included below DEA´s Schedule of Drugs for your information.
Drug Schedules
Drugs, substances, and certain chemicals used to make drugs are classified into five (5) distinct categories or schedules depending upon the drug’s acceptable medical use and the drug’s abuse or dependency potential. The abuse rate is a determinate factor in the scheduling of the drug; for example, Schedule I drugs are considered the most dangerous class of drugs with a high potential for abuse and potentially severe psychological and/or physical dependence.
As the drug schedule changes– Schedule II, Schedule III, etc., so does the abuse potential– Schedule V drugs represents the least potential for abuse. A Listing of drugs and their schedule are located at Controlled Substance Act (CSA) Scheduling or CSA Scheduling by Alphabetical Order.
These lists describe the basic or parent chemical and do not necessarily describe the salts, isomers and salts of isomers, esters, ethers and derivatives which may also be classified as controlled substances. These lists are intended as general references and are not comprehensive listings of all controlled substances.
Please note that a substance need not be listed as a controlled substance to be treated as a Schedule I substance for criminal prosecution. A controlled substance analogue is a substance which is intended for human consumption and is structurally or pharmacologically substantially similar to or is represented as being similar to a Schedule I or Schedule II substance and is not an approved medication in the United States. (See 21 U.S.C. §802(32)(A) for the definition of a controlled substance analogue and 21 U.S.C. §813 for the schedule.)
Schedule I
Scheduled drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence.
Some examples of Schedule I drugs are:
- Heroin
- Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)
- Marijuana (cannabis)
- 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy)
- Methaqualone
- Peyote
Schedule II
Scheduled drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse, less abuse potential than Schedule I drugs, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence. These drugs are also considered dangerous.
Some examples of Schedule II drugs are:
- cocaine
- methamphetamine
- methadone
- hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
- meperidine (Demerol)
- oxycodone (OxyContin)
- fentanyl
- Dexedrine
- Adderall
- Ritalin
Schedule III
Scheduled drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Schedule III drugs abuse potential is less than Schedule I and Schedule II drugs but more than Schedule IV.
Some examples of Schedule III drugs are:
- Combination products with less than 15 milligrams of hydrocodone per dosage unit (Vicodin)
- Products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dosage unit (Tylenol with codeine)
- ketamine
- anabolic steroids
- testosterone
Schedule IV
Scheduled drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a low potential for abuse and low risk of dependence.
Some examples of Schedule IV drugs are:
- Xanax
- Soma
- Darvon
- Darvocet
- Valium
- Ativan
- Talwin
- Ambien
Schedule V
Scheduled drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with lower potential for abuse than Schedule IV and consist of preparations containing limited quantities of certain narcotics. Schedule V drugs are generally used for antidiarrheal, antitussive, and analgesic purposes.
Some examples of Schedule V drugs are:
- cough preparations with less than 200 milligrams of codeine or per 100 milliliters (Robitussin AC)
- Lomotil
- Motofen
- Lyrica
- Parepectolin